Small businesses like yours are the engines of our nation’s economy, and the Small Business Administration exists to help you find opportunities to grow and create jobs.

I want to make sure you know about two online tools that give you greater access to markets for you to sell goods and services. Recent reports show that small suppliers can more than triple revenue growth and more than double job growth just a few years after becoming a large company supplier.

Supplier Connection: Connecting YOU to America’s leading companies

Created by the IBM Foundation, Supplier Connection is a free online common application that allows you to simultaneously send information about your products and services to fifteen private sector companies. These buyers include some of America’s most respected firms, with purchasing power of $300 billion each year – Facebook, AT&T, IBM, Pfizer, UPS, Caterpillar, AMD, Office Depot, Dell, JP Morgan, John Deere, Wells Fargo, Citi, Kellogg’s, and Bank of America. Over the coming months, we expect even more large companies will be added. To join Supplier Connection, please visit www.supplier-connection.net. For frequently asked questions, a user manual and a list of industries and commodities being requested, click on the “FAQs” tab on the top of the screen.

SUB-Net: Connecting YOU to Federal Government sub-contracting opportunities

SBA also helps small businesses become suppliers to the world’s largest buyer – the Federal Government. One way to break into Federal contracting is to become a sub-contractor to a large prime contractor. Each year, small businesses are awarded $70 billion in Federal sub-contracting opportunities. We maintain an online database that helps you search for Federal sub-contracting opportunities posted by large prime contractors and other non-federal agencies, which we callSUB-Net. To learn more about SUB-Net, please visit http://web.sba.gov/subnet/. To view a list of current solicitations, click “Search” on the top of the screen and then and click “View all solicitations” on the left side of the screen.

These databases break down barriers to make it easier for you to access Federal and commercial supply chains. I hope you will take a look at them. And after you do, remember that SBA stands ready to help you get the contracting know-how, capital and counseling to be successful suppliers. As we discover more resources which may benefit your small business we may send you additional information. Visit www.sba.gov for more details on our small business programs and resources.